


Mutual Understanding

by Ki_writes



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: But it's like sort of sobering fluff, College AU, Cuddling, Fluff, Hamburr, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern AU, They just need someone to love, Thunderstorms, not really angst but kind of angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 21:03:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10049201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_writes/pseuds/Ki_writes
Summary: Sometimes you need somebody to lean on, even if that somebody is a person you never could have imagined going to for any form of help.(or)Aaron Burr shows up at Alex's door at one in the morning and just needs a hug.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back? Um, yes? My busy two months have come to a close, and that means I'm slowly going to ease back into writing! I'm not completely off the hook, seeing as I'm in the school musical, but I'm going to _slowly_ start a routine up again. 
> 
> Here's a Hamburr one-shot written in about an hour with my dearest friend on my mind. It is now almost one in the morning, this probably has quite a few errors that my sleep deprived mind did not catch. Still, I do hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Just a short little thing.
> 
> Dedicated to Jess.

Mutual understanding. 

That’s all that it was: mutual understanding of the fact that sometimes emotions became too much, and sometimes people just needed somebody to lean on, no matter who. Nobody was perfect. Nobody was strong enough to go their entire lives without breaking down and _needing_ help. And slowly, over time, Alexander learned that it was okay to ask for help on certain things. It was okay to need another person to lean on. 

And on the flip side of that, Alex learned to be more accepting and open to people who needed it. To give what he previously received. In the past, Alex hadn’t been the most accommodating or accepting when others were in need. It wasn’t that he hated people or anything, he just generally wasn’t good with others and their feelings and emotions and all that wonderful stuff that made humans… _human_. 

So when, at one in the morning on a Sunday, Alexander heard a faint knock on the door that hardly overdid the rain pattering against his dorm window, he instantly knew that something was wrong. All his friends knew that Alex hardly ever slept; his average was about two hours because why waste seven to eight hours of the day when you’re only given twenty four? To Alex that never made sense, and while he often ran solely on caffeine during the other twenty-two hours of the day, he got far more done than anybody else. 

Alex slowly stood up, stretching his arms over his head and exhaling shallowly as he felt his joints crack in numerous places. What a nice reprieve from being bent over his desk for hours. With a faint hum, Alex wandered over to the door, mentally preparing himself to come face-to-face with a drunk Laurens or a sobbing Lafayette (who was most likely crying over some French sitcom), or even a dazed and confused Mulligan; all of which had happened before. What he wasn’t prepared for when he opened that door was a tall, lean figure wrapped up in a blanket with a book in one of his hands and his phone in the other. 

Aaron Burr. 

One in the morning on a Sunday and Alex was holding his door open staring at his classmate who more often than not drove him up the wall. As a student Aaron wasn’t so bad. But as a person? He was one of the biggest pushovers Alexander had ever come to know in his twenty years on the earth. His opinions weren’t strong, he hardly ever defended himself when challenged, he always let the other man win for the sake of playing it safe. Alex knew from the start that they wouldn’t get along. 

Yet, this Aaron Burr… he looked broken. Sad, slightly disheveled, upset about something. Not to mention the sheer notion of him being awake past eleven in the evening was completely shattered. Despite Alex’s great dislike of Aaron’s ‘political’ character, he… he had to admit that the man had qualities that appealed to his softer side. Aaron was soft spoken, kind hearted when it was something that would work in his favor, and he was always the friend who opened his arms to any person in need. Perhaps it was due to past experience- Alex really didn’t know _that_ much about Aaron’s past to be able to tell. 

The rain had started picking up outside and Alex could hear it pounding more frequently on his small window. The curtains were drawn, but he was stuck in a staring contest with the tired looking man on the other side of his door threshold. Aaron still hadn’t spoken- he’d hardly moved, in fact, and Alexander didn’t quite know what to do. Was he waiting for something? 

A small, audible crack of lightning rang out and Alexander immediately tensed a little bit, his focus dissipating for mere seconds before it was back on Burr’s face. Alex didn’t like thunderstorms. Rain, to a degree, he could handle; and that’s all that had been coming down so far in the evening. Small bouts of rain. But when thunder or lightening came into the equation? It was a completely different dynamic that reminded Alex far too much of Nevis. Of oceans, trees, beaches, broken and tattered, houses buried under mountains of sand and debris, people crying out in pain or searching for their missing son, daughter, grandparent, niece, _mothers_ \- 

Without having shared a word, Alexander opened his door and gestured for Aaron to enter, and the taller man did slowly, not giving Alex a second glance. He moved until he was standing in the middle of the room, his eyes trained on the window. It must have been hypnotizing to see the droplets hitting glass, smashing together to create a fine sheet of slick liquid flowing down over the panel. 

Alexander couldn’t look. 

“You don’t like storms, do you?” Aaron asked quietly, finally tearing his eyes away from the outside portal. Alex had jumped a little, still standing next to the door, almost feeling stuck in place. As an answer, he merely shook his head, to which Aaron returned with a nod. 

“I don’t either.” 

Burr turned around, putting his book down on Alex’s desk and holding onto his blanket with one hand as he reached forward and shifted the blinds closed, making sure to block out everything that was happening. It created an isolated feeling, being cut off from the rest of the world. The only thing that existed to Alex in that moment was his messy room, the drumming in his ears, and Aaron. 

After the blinds were closed, Aaron walked back over to Alexander, who had taken to leaning against the door for support. He wasn’t much shorter than Aaron, but there were a few good inches between their heights, so when Aaron was directly in front of him, less than a foot away, he had to look down at Alex and the smaller had to look up. 

Alex nearly flinched when he felt a soft hand touching his waist: testing, asking for permission. When Alexander didn’t protest, Aaron used his arm to wrap around Alex’s body, hand resting on the small of his back as he was pulled away from the door. Another crack of thunder meant another sinking feeling in his chest and in a moment of weakness he pressed himself against Burr’s warm body, head burying in his shoulder. Oddly enough, Aaron didn’t back away or push _Alex_ away, no. Instead, he dropped his blanket, his other arm wrapping around Alex’s torso as he buried his head in his black hair. 

Mutual ground. 

That moment was the first time in days where Alexander felt _tired_ ; physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. After a minute, his arms weakened around Aaron and he had to wonder why the man was so quiet. Well, Burr was always quiet, but not like that. Not in the ‘I-don’t-want-to-speak-unless-I-have-to’ way. Usually, he had snarky comments to throw out there, but now… nothing. He looked and felt and sounded tired and hurt and… lost. 

But why? 

“Can I stay?” The voice was muffled in Alex’s hair and he blinked open to gaze at the closed blinds just over Aaron’s shoulder. Thunder, lightning, rain, wind, a storm, don’t drown. 

“Stay.” 

The two of them, as though one mind, let go and gravitated towards Alex’s bed. He was going to offer to give Aaron his own space and work something else out, but Burr seemed to have different intentions because he went first into the bed, laying with his back against the wall and an inviting arm open for Alex. And he wanted nothing more than to lay down in that bed with another warm body and curl up against Aaron’s chest; feel the heartbeat of another person, know that they were there and alive, persevering through the rain that continued to drum outside at a steady beat, occasionally accompanied by a new rumble of thunder. 

So you know what? Alexander laid down under the covers with Aaron, let the taller man hold him tight against his chest and block out the noise of the storm brewing outside. It felt homey and comfortable, and oddly familiar. They say that’s how you feel with someone you care about deeply. And maybe Alex might like Burr more than he lets on. Just maybe. 

At the cue of another rumble of thunder, Alex held tighter to Aaron and even heard a faint whimper escape his lips. They were getting louder, more frequent, closer. Alex had it in his right mind to apologize to Aaron for being so scared and clingy, but then Burr was pressing a kiss to Alex’s head. Soft and hardly there. And that’s when a looming thought popped into his mind. 

“You have Theodosia.” He murmured against Aaron’s chest where his head was buried, not certain if Aaron even heard him properly. 

But he did and Alex felt his chest rise and fall with a quick, faint sigh. 

“She broke up with me.” 

_Oh._

That’s what it was. 

They both needed someone. And right then and there, they had each other. 

A mutual understanding.

**Author's Note:**

> Off to bed. 
> 
> -Ki


End file.
